Vox B-286
Little is documented about the Vox B-286. The record shows it was a preamplifier component - the half of a system that handles source selection, volume, and tone control before the signal reaches a power amplifier. Vox is best remembered for guitar amplifiers and organs, but this unit put the brand in the high-fidelity separates market during the mid-1980s.
All the surviving information comes from a single equipment profile in Audio (December 1986, p.104), which published measured specifications and a brief listening impression. The reviewer noted that despite being "only part of the B286," the preamp section could "stack up against some of the best separate preamps I've tested" (Audio, December 1986, p.112). Measured figures included image rejection of 110 dB, spurious-response rejection of 110 dB, subcarrier-product rejection of 78 dB, and crosstalk between inputs of 90 dB at 1 kHz. Rated output levels were 6 V on output "A," 2 V on output "B," 6 V on the headphone jack, and 500 mV on the tape output.
Beyond that, nothing. No production years, original price, dimensions, or design details have surfaced. The B-286 appears to have been a niche offering - a Vox-branded preamp that let the buyer pair it with a separate power amplifier or an active speaker system.
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